


"Is that my shirt?"

by jdmsrovia



Series: Macdennis Drabbles [1]
Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Brian Jr is the most adorable baby ever, Dennis is a hot mess, M/M, Mac loves his family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 01:52:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13179876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdmsrovia/pseuds/jdmsrovia
Summary: a short macdennis drabble based off the prompt: "is that my shirt?"dennis is tasked with taking care of brian jr while he comes back to philly, and even mac can see he's out of his depth.





	"Is that my shirt?"

Mac yawned loudly as he approached the apartment door, fumbling for the key in his pocket. With one staff member down, the gang had actually had to start to work hard and take the bar seriously. They were never gonna a win any awards for friendliest staff or best bar or anything, but they were trying. Plus, it turns out doing your job actually made you money, too. Who knew? Whatever though, Mac thought. All this work had him exhausted.  
He pushed the door open with a soft click, aware of the late hour and the fact Dennis would murder him if he woke Brian Jr.  
Not that he'd ever admit it, but Dennis's visits to Philly were the only thing Mac had to look forward to anymore. He was pretty sure Charlie and Dee were banging now, and Frank was spending more time with Artemis, not that he gave a shit. But things had changed a lot, and Mac felt lonelier than ever. Just having someone else in his apartment to talk to again meant everything to him. Dennis never brought up the fact Mac always had a spare room, or that he'd never tried to look for another roommate since he left, and Mac was grateful for it. He smiled to himself as he entered the apartment, undeniably excited to see Dennis after being at the bar all day. He can see the kid later, or whatever. He thought it was weird he had to bring him with him this time anyway, goddamn Mandy.  
Once he'd quietly shut the door behind him he was surprised to see the TV on, switched to some kid's programme he didn't recognise, and there were toys scattered all over the floor, making the room look like a bomb had just gone off.

"SHIT"

And that's when he heard Brian's wailing, making him cringe as the crying pierced his ears.  
"Uh, Dennis? You okay dude?"  
At that moment Dennis came rushing out of his room towards Mac. His hair was a mess and his shirt was stained with a combination of stuff he'd rather not find out the origin of. He had dark circles under his eyes, and was rocking Brian hastily in a desperate attempt to get him to calm down.  
"Is that my shirt?"  
Mac signalled to Brian, a look of confusion on his face. He instantly recognised the grey 'RIOT' shirt wrapped and tied haphazardly around the kid in a poor attempt to make it fit.  
"Shit, yeah dude. I'm so sorry man, our clothes are in the case I left at Dee's when she picked us up from the airport. He spilled some shit on himself and I uh, improvised. Sorry man."  
He looked completely burned out and wrecked, and Mac couldn't help but feel sorry for him. None of them thought Dennis would be the best dad ever, but they assumed he could at least get through a day looking after his son without having a breakdown. A small smile emerged on Mac's face, and Dennis looked utterly bewildered. Mac laughed softly before taking Brian from Dennis's arms and rocking him up and down, shushing him and rubbing his back. Dennis was dumbfounded.  
"I used to look after my baby cousins when I was a kid. Turns out I'm pretty good at it."  
Brian had quickly stopped crying and buried his tear stained face in Mac's shoulder. He didn't know wether it was exhaustion or pure relief, but the sight made Dennis's heart swell. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to cry, and twisted his face to hold back. He was definitely just tired, he thought. Really fucking tired.  
"Dennis, go get some of my clothes. Take a shower and I'll order some take out."  
Dennis shook his head and began to protest before Mac interrupted him.  
"Dude, go. You look like shit. I got him."  
He finally nodded, and sloped off to Mac's room.  
Mac looked down at the now sleeping kid in his arms. He smiled, surprising himself. He'd always seen the kid as an inconvenience, the one thing that ruined the group and forced Dennis to leave. It was unfair, he knew, but if he didn't direct his anger on something he'd have to just accept everything was changing. Fuck that.

After calling for a pizza, he lay on the sofa with Brian snoring gently on his chest, and he internally cursed himself for being such a fucking moron. It wasn't the kids fault. Plus, he was really fucking adorable. The fact it was Dennis's actual son had never really sunk in. This little human is half the man he's been in love with since high school. Crazy.

A half hour later, Dennis emerged from the bathroom. He was wearing Mac's sweat pants and 'Uncle Sam's pawn shop' tee. His hair was still a little damp and he still looked tired, but Mac thought he looked gorgeous. And he hated himself for it.  
Dennis signalled for Mac to make room and he slumped down next to him.  
"You're really good with him, huh?"  
Mac smiled and stroked Brian's hair out of his face.  
"Yeah. I guess so."  
There was a few beats of silence as they both stared mindlessly at the TV, desperate words stuck in their throats.  
"Listen, Dennis. I know you're just gonna disagree, but if you need help, I'm here. We all are. Well, me and Dee are, Charlie and Frank shouldn't be left with a kid."  
Dennis laughed softly, before his face saddened.  
"I don't need help Mac. I've got Mandy, anyway."  
The mention of her name made Mac tense.  
"Not always. I just want you to know that you and Brian are always welcome, and when you are back, you don't have to look after him alone."  
A small smile emerged on Mac's face as he looked over to the other man, who looked again as he was fighting back tears. He cleared his throat and looked away.  
"Thanks, Mac."  
Mac continued to stare at him until Dennis met his eyes. After everything that had happened recently, with Dennis being a dad and leaving Philly, to the gang changing and the bar not the same, one thing had remained unwavering. Mac knew, no matter how much he tried to stop, some part of him would always be in love with Dennis Reynolds. And Dennis knew it too. Since the moment he realised when they were smoking a joint behind the bleachers and Mac looked at him with such feeling and heartbreak, he'd never been able to let it go. He'd ignored it, shut it out, dismissed it and exploited it, but he never forgot that look and the obvious love behind it. It hurt sometimes, to think what could have been. But maybe in another life if either of them had done something about it, Brian wouldn't exist. And he'd much rather be sitting here right now, with the two people he cares most about in the world.  
What he did next he didn't blame on his tiredness or emotional state. He didn't have to blame it on anything, because when he leant forward and tentatively kissed Mac, slow and gentle, and when Mac kissed him back, resting his free hand softly on Dennis's neck, he didn't need any kind of excuse other than he was deeply and ridiculously in love.

**Author's Note:**

> follow my tumblr, where I take prompt/fic suggestions! https://www.tumblr.com/blog/maccymacdonald


End file.
